May 8, 2023 12:02 am
The Stretch Drive meets Crunch Time. Players, coaches, athletic directors, groundskeepers and fans have all had about enough bad weather. Softball section games have to be completed by Wednesday, baseball by Thursday in preparation for the upcoming WPIAL Playoffs. The top six teams in 6A softball qualify. Every other section in softball and baseball will advance the top four teams plus unbreakable ties to the post-season. WPIAL brackets are due to be released late this week with playoff games starting next Monday.
Weather permitting, we’ve got a pair of impact games for you on-air and online at WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here! Our coverage starts with Burgettstown at Bentworth softball (airtime 3:50 pm). The Blue Devils have a playoff spot in hand. The Bearcats need one win to qualify. We’ll follow that with Waynesburg vs. McGuffey baseball (airtime 6:50 pm) from Wild Things Park. The Highlanders clinch with a win. The Raiders have four games this week and need to win twice to make it. Following is a rundown of the teams from Washington/Greene Counties and their playoff status heading into the final week, plus Monday’s game schedule.
Softball
Clinched: Trinity (section title), Waynesburg (section title), Charleroi, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston, Carmichaels (share of title), West Greene
Eliminated: Avella, Beth-Center, California, Peters Township, Ringgold, Wash High
Alive: Canon-McMillan (likely needs two wins facing bottom-tier teams in final three games); McGuffey (needs one win against Waynesburg or winless Keystone Oaks); Bentworth (needs one win facing qualifiers Burgettstown and Charleroi, finishing with winless Beth-Center); Ft. Cherry (needs two losses by Burgettstown or Bentworth); Jeff-Morgan (clinches with one win or two Mapletown losses); Mapletown (must beat Jeff-Morgan and Californina).
Baseball
Clinched: Canon-McMillan (share of title), Peters Township, Ringgold, Burgettstown, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, Bentworth, Avella, California, Carmichaels
Eliminated: Beth-Center, Wash High, Mapletown, West Greene
Alive: Trinity (needs South Fayette to beat Upper St. Clair in the section finale) Monday; McGuffey (needs one win vs. Waynesburg); Waynesburg (needs two wins from two games each with McGuffey & Mt. Pleasant); Ft. Cherry (needs one win, playing J-M twice and Mapletown once); Jeff-Morgan (must sweep Ft. Cherry).
Monday’s Results
Softball
Pine-Richland 3, Canon-McMillan 2
Peters Township 6, Connellsville 5
Ringgold at Uniontown
Waynesburg at McGuffey PPD
Charleroi 5, OLSH 2
Burgettstown 7, Bentworth 3
Wash High at Beth-Center DH PPD
Carmichaels 11, Avella 0
Jeff-Morgan 8, Mapletown 4
West Greene at California DH PPD
Carmichaels 18, Mapletown 0
Chartiers-Houston 16, Jeff-Morgan 0 |
Baseball
Canon-McMillan 10, Central Catholic 2
Waynesburg 6, McGuffey 2
Beth-Center 7, Wash High 2
Burgettstown 10, Frazier 0
Chartiers-Houston 3, Charleroi 1
West Greene at California PPD
Ft. Cherry 10, Jeff-Morgan 0
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May 8, 2023 3:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Whit Merrifield had four RBIs, three on his first homer of the season, and the Toronto Blue Jays routed Pittsburgh 10-1 for a three-game sweep that extended the Pirates’ losing streak to seven. Merrifield put the Blue Jays ahead with a run-scoring infield single in the first following a 95-minute rain delay and opened a 4-0 lead in the third when he sent a hanging curveball from Roansy Contreras into the left-field bleachers. Toronto outscored Pittsburgh 22-3 during the sweep, bouncing back from five straight losses.
May 8, 2023 12:01 am
TRAFFORD, Pa. — After posting a 17-3 record in league play during the regular season, Washington & Jefferson College has earned the top seed and hosting rights for this week’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Tournament. The league’s four-team, double-elimination championship tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 11-13 at Ross Memorial Park in Washington, Pa. The Tournament will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 11, with top-seed W&J (28-12, 17-3 PAC) taking on fourth-seed Westminster College (20-18, 13-7 PAC) in Game A. At 4 p.m. in Game B, second-seeded Grove City College (29-9, 16-4 PAC) will face No. 3 Saint Vincent College (20-16, 13-7 PAC). Both of Thursday’s matchups are rematches from day one of the 2022 PAC Tournament. The tournament will continue through Saturday’s championship game(s). This is W&J’s sixth-straight tournament serving as the league’s championship tournament host. The Presidents, led by 21st-year head coach Jeff Mountain, are making their 14th-straight tournament appearance. W&J won its 14th PAC title in 2022 with a 10-2 victory in the title game over Westminster. Coach Mountain earned his 600th career win following W&J’s sweep of Allegheny Saturday. The PAC Championship Tournament winner will earn the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
May 7, 2023 7:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brandon Belt hit a two-run double in a four-run first inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays extended the Pittsburgh Pirates’ losing streak to a season-high six games with an 8-2 victory. José Berríos gave up two runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk as Toronto won its second straight after a five-game skid. Before a crowd of 34,882, the Pirates’ largest for a May home game since 2015, Johan Oviedo gave up seven runs — six earned — 10 hits and three walks in five innings.
May 7, 2023 12:01 am
The first Washington/Greene County baseball teams were eliminated from playoff contention Saturday. Bentworth’s sweep of a double-header against Beth-Center clinches a spot for the Bearcats and eliminated the Bulldogs and Wash High. Fort Cherry’s win over Mapletown eliminated the Maples. Trinity’s baseball hopes hinge on South Fayette beating Upper St. Clair Sunday afternoon. Eight Washington County softball teams along with all five Greene County teams are still alive. Our Stretch Drive coverage will continue over the final four days of the regular season on WJPA-AM (1450) or Listen Here!
Baseball
Clinched: Canon-McMillan (share of title), Peters Township, Ringgold, Burgettstown, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, Bentworth, Avella, California, Carmichaels
Alive: Trinity, McGuffey, Waynesburg, Ft. Cherry, Jeff-Morgan
Eliminated: Beth-Center, Wash High, Mapletown, West Greene
Softball
Clinched: Trinity (section title), Waynesburg (section title), Charleroi, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston, Carmichaels (share of title), West Greene
Alive: Canon-McMillan, McGuffey, Bentworth, Ft. Cherry, Jeff-Morgan, Mapletown
Eliminated: Avella, Beth-Center, California, Peters Township, Ringgold, Wash High
Saturday’s schedule:
Baseball
Bentworth 10, Beth-Center 0
Bentworth 9, Beth-Center 3
Bethel Park 11, Trinity 1
Ringgold 5, Albert Gallatin 0
Chartiers-Houston 17, Frazier 0
Peters Township 14, Connellsville 3
Ft. Cherry 11, Mapletown 1
California 6, Avella 3
Softball
OLSH 12, Burgettstown 2
Charleroi 12, Ft. Cherry 2
May 7, 2023 1:25 am
Waynesburg University defended its Presidents Athletic Conference softball championship, winning three straight games at this year’s conference tournament. Saturday, the Yellow Jackets built 3-0 and 6-1 leads and held off a Westminster rally on the Titans’ home turf. Waynesburg claims its second-straight automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. Recap and box scores are available at the League’s website: CLICK HERE
Saturday:
Elimination Final Westminster 5, Geneva 1
Championship Game Waynesburg 6, Westminster 3
May 7, 2023 7:53 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two more horses died in the hours before 15-1 shot Mage won the Kentucky Derby by a length, making it seven in all and casting a shadow over the 149th edition of the world’s most famous race. Early favorite Forte was scratched in the morning because of an injury, the fifth horse to drop out in the run-up to the Derby. The deaths dealt further blows to a sport already reeling from a series of doping suspensions and breakdowns. Two Phil’s finished second and 4-1 favorite Angel of Empire was third in front of a crowd of 150,335 on a warm and partly cloudy day at Churchill Downs.
May 6, 2023 4:19 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Bassitt allowed four hits over seven innings, George Springer hit his fourth home run of the season and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0. Bassitt (4-2) struck out five and walked four as Toronto ended a five-game losing streak. Bassitt, who signed a three-year deal with Toronto in the offseason, won for the third time in four starts for the Blue Jays. Pittsburgh managed just four hits against Bassitt and two relievers to lose its fifth consecutive game.
May 6, 2023 4:21 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A spectator fell over a protective railing and into the Red Sox bullpen in the first inning of Boston’s game against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. The fan was taken to the trauma center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, according to medical personnel on the scene. He tumbled one level from an open concourse into the Boston bullpen in right-center field. Security personnel immediately cleared fans from the railing in Ashburn Alley, which sits close to the visiting bullpen, as medical personnel attended to the fan. The spectator was strapped to a backboard and taken from the bullpen and field on a stretcher and a cart.
May 5, 2023 10:52 am
The Presidents Athletic Conference Softball Championship Tournament is underway. Regular season champion Westminster is hosting #2 Waynesburg, the defending champion along with #3 Allegheny and #4 Geneva College, the winner of a three-team play-in bracket. Saturday’s schedule includes the elimination final and the championship round/’if necessary’ games. Follow details at the League’s website: CLICK HERE
Friday:
#2 Waynesburg 1, #3 Allegheny 0
#1 Westminster 3, #4 Geneva 2
Elimination game Geneva 3, Allegheny 1, 13 innings
Winner’s Bracket Waynesburg 9, Westminster 2
Saturday:
11 am Elimination Final Geneva vs. Westminster
1 pm Championship Game Waynesburg vs. Geneva/Westminster winner
3 pm “If Necessary” Game
